3 ways to increase your email signup conversion rate

People are visiting your website, but how many are choosing to join your email list? The sad reality is that most people who stumble upon your website are unlikely to return, unless you capture their information and follow up with them. An optimized email signup process can help.

It’s like this …

If I give you a dollar but I ask for $.80 back, that’s not really fun is it? You’d much rather keep the whole dollar, right? That’s essentially what most of us do as business owners with our website traffic.

We have all of these visitors coming to our site day in and day out, but if we don’t have a well-thought-out strategy for capturing the attention and email addresses of these visitors … we’re letting the dollars slip through our fingers.

So in this article we’re going to go over three ways that you can increase your website’s email signup conversion rate, so you can keep more of the visitors you do get, and start to build a great relationship with them over email.

1. Use a clear call to action

When it comes to your email signup the opt-in call-to-action is important. The more clear and to the point you can be, the better. Most people understand the concept of joining an email list or receiving email updates, but they don’t always know where to click or what will happen after they join your email list.

Be clear upfront about what they can expect, like how many emails they’ll get and how quickly they’ll have access to your free gift.

In addition, make it really easy for people to understand what they need to do next, by using a call-to-action. Use words like “click here” and “get free instant access” to give people something concrete to do and look forward to.

It also helps to have a strong headline or title for your opt-in offer. Don’t be vague or focus too much on the format (most people don’t mind if they’re getting a free PDF or an MP3). They just want the information that you’re promising in exchange for the ability to follow up with them!

2. Blend your call-to-action with your content

One common mistake that I see newer business owners make is that they have their call-to-actions stand out like ads. Lots of people do it, and if you’re just looking at what your competitors are doing, you might fall into this trap, too.

Don’t make all your calls-to-action stand out like ads.

Blend them into your content and into your site design so they look organic. If it feels like it’s meant to be there and it flows with your site’s layout, then people are a lot less likely to ignore your email signup opt-in box.

Similarly, think about how someone uses your website. They likely read from left to right and top to bottom, so have your opt-in box appear where their eyes “land” after they’ve read some of your content. That usually means your right-hand sidebar or at the bottom of your blog posts.

3. Use an email signup popup and ask for the opt-in before they leave

Now even though you have a strong call-to-action, and you’re blending your opt-in offers with your site’s design … people are still very ad-blind and might not see your offer in your sidebar or at the bottom of your blog posts.

So what’s the solution? It comes in the form of a tactful lightbox popup. You can get started with this free WordPress popup plugin or something similar. The main thing that you’ll want to look for is “exit intent tracking.” This basically means that you’ll display the popup only when it looks like someone is about to click away from your website by using the back button or closing the browser.

This is one of the least obtrusive ways to get people to see your email signup opt-in offer, and to ask them to join your list. After all, they’ve just finished reading or watching your site’s content, and they’re feeling good about you. You’re not interrupting their browsing, and you catch them just before they’re out the door.

These types of popup plugins have been shown to increase your site’s subscription conversion rates by five to 10 times. Pretty impressive, and definitely worth testing for your own website and business.

With these simple tips on increasing email signup opt-in conversions in place, you’ll be well on your way to building an email list of happy potential clients and customers. Fun!

Nathalie Lussier is an award-winning entrepreneur, international keynote speaker, and author who has been making web sites since she was 12 years old. Her bootstrapped startup AmbitionAlly is inspiring a culture of intuitive small business marketing software across the globe.
Nathalie has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur, Venture Beat, Mashable, Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, and Under 30 CEO. She’s the host of the Off The Charts business podcast, and founder of the hit 30 Day List Building Challenge.

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